Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for August 12, 2026 is:





gnomic • \NOH-mik\ • adjective

Gnomic is a formal word that describes something cryptically said or written in few words.

// The painter is notorious for offering terse, gnomic responses to questions about her work that leave interviewers and critics scratching their heads.

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Examples:

“Indeed, the album that ‘Michelangelo Dying’ reminds me of most is [Laurie] Anderson’s seminal ‘Big Science,’ from 1982. ... Both albums feature gnomic lyrical pronouncements. (‘Rigid, collapse,’ [Cate] Le Bon chants on the track ‘About Time,’ reminiscent of Anderson talk-singing, ‘Big Science, Hallelujah.’)” — Rumaan Alam, The New Yorker, 26 Sept. 2025





Did you know?

A gnome is an aphorism—that is, a short phrase that expresses a true or wise idea. Gnomes are sometimes couched in metaphorical or figurative language, they are often quite clever, and they are always concise. We borrowed the word gnome in the 16th century from the Greeks, who based their word gnōmē on the verb gignōskein, meaning “to know.” (The other gnome—referring to the dwarf of folklore—comes from New Latin and is unrelated to the aphoristic gnome.) We began using gnomic, the adjective form of gnome, in the late 18th century. It describes a style of writing, or sometimes speech, characterized by pithy phrases, which are often terse to the point of mysteriousness.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for August 11, 2026 is:





baptism of fire • \BAP-tiz-um-uv-FYRE\ • noun

A baptism of fire (or baptism by fire, as it is sometimes referred to in the U.S.) is an introductory or initial experience that is a severe ordeal. In military contexts, baptism of fire specifically refers to a soldier's first exposure to enemy fire.

// The newly recruited player faced a baptism of fire as the team went head to head with their greatest rival.

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Examples:

"It was my first day on the slopes, and in my naivety I had tackled Avoriaz’s famous Boulevard des Skieurs after one three-hour lesson, before I could even really turn. At 36, this was a baptism of fire." — Jaymi McCann, The Week, 23 Jan. 2026





Did you know?

The military sense of baptism of fire can be found in, among other texts, a 1907 history of a Massachusetts regiment in the Civil War: "That night we camped sixteen miles from Baton Rouge where we remained until the 21st, on which day we received our baptism of fire." Users of that sense, referring to a soldier's first exposure to enemy fire, as well those employing the more general sense of an especially difficult initiation, both allude (knowingly or unknowingly) to a Biblical passage: "I baptize you with water for repentance, but he who is coming after me . . . will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire" (Matthew 3:11, RSV). The use of baptism of fire to refer to such a spiritual baptism dates to at least the early 1600s. Non-biblical, metaphorical use for any introductory or initial experience that is a severe ordeal arose in the mid-1850s.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for August 10, 2026 is:





pedagogical • \ped-uh-GAH-jih-kul\ • adjective

Pedagogical is a formal word used to describe things that are of or related to teachers or education.

// The new professor is known for particularly engaging pedagogical methods.

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Examples:

“It’s a predictable part of every academic year at my institution: that time when we faculty are asked to submit course proposals and space requests. ... But the prosaic task of picking a classroom has hidden potential: It’s a chance to manifest a new pedagogical vision; it’s an instantiation of values in a time of profound change.” — Rachel Hastings, Inside Higher Ed, 4 June 2026





Did you know?

Pedagogical was coined in the late 16th century from a Greek adjective of the same meaning. That adjective, paidagōgikos (“suitable for a teacher or trainer”), in turn comes from the noun paidagōgos, meaning “tutor.” The English word pedagogue (which can simply mean “teacher” but usually suggests one who is particularly pedantic or dull) comes from the same root. Although the words educational and teacher make the grade in most contexts, pedagogical and pedagogue are useful additions to the class.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for August 9, 2026 is:





anecdote • \AN-ik-doht\ • noun

An anecdote is a short narrative about an interesting, funny, or biographical incident.

// Dinner with our uncles means lots of anecdotes involving the mischief they got into as kids.

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Examples:

“Standing in front of a room of about 40 people … [NASCAR driver, Lavar] Scott told stories about his racing family. ‘One time, my grandmother raced my grandfather, and she flipped her Mustang,’ said Scott. The anecdote was greeted with a chorus of laughs.” — Devin Jackson, The Orlando Sentinel, 28 June 2026





Did you know?

The Byzantine historian Procopius wrote three historical works in Greek. In the first two, he dealt with wars and public works projects, but the third was different. Referred to as the Anekdota, from the Greek adjective anekdotos meaning “unpublished,” it contained bitter attacks on the emperor Justinian, his wife, and other notables of contemporary Constantinople. Understandably, it was not published until after Procopius’s death. English speakers originally used an anglicized version of the book’s name for similar secret or unpublished histories or biographies, but by the 17th century, the meaning of anecdote had been broadened to cover brief and interesting or amusing tales of events or incidents.

Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day for August 8, 2026 is:





nurture • \NER-cher\ • verb

Nurture is most often used to mean “to help someone or something grow, develop, or succeed.” It can also mean “to take care of someone or something that is growing or developing by providing food, protection, a place to live, etc.,” or “to hold something, such as an idea or strong feeling, in your mind for a long time.”

// Art teachers nurture their students’ creativity.

// She nurtured a secret ambition to be a professional singer.

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Examples:

“Parks are good for people. They nurture community, even alongside busy roads and next to dense housing; especially there, in fact.” — Cheryl Fox, The Park Record (Park City, Utah), 3 July 2026





Did you know?

When nurture was first adopted from Anglo-French into English in the 14th century, it referred, as it does in the phrase “nurture vs. nature,” to training or upbringing, i.e., to the care and attention given to someone or something that is growing or developing. It wasn’t until a century later that the verb nurture settled into the language, first with meanings having to do with feeding and caring for young—meanings nourish had been, er, nurturing for a hundred years. The words come by their overlapping meanings etymologically: both come from the Latin verb nutrire, meaning “to suckle” or “to nourish.” The figurative use of nurture, meaning “to further the development of,” followed centuries later. Mary Wollstonecraft applied it in her 1792 book, A Vindication of the Rights of Woman, writing, “Public spirit must be nurtured by private virtue.”